Longing for Solitude
by Suicidal Sweety
Summary: Sora is tired of being followed by Donald and Goofy. He is breaking and he needs to get away from them all. So he turns to his friends in Twilight Town. A letter from Olette's aunt gives them the chance they need to help him but will it be enough?
1. Chapter 1

All right ya'll. I don't know about you guys but I am really tired of Goofy and Donald always following me around. It's a little annoying 'cause they get in the way. Anyway, I started to play the first one again and I would have played the second but a friend still has it… Ah well. I just wanted to see what would happen if Sora got tired of them following him around and this is what happened. If anyone even reads this could you tell me if there are any fics like this but better? I'd appreciate it. But yea, uh, this is pretty much what I think could happen or would have happened. I'm gonna shut up now 'cause I am rambling. Sorry. However, please note that this takes place after the second game. Yes he beat the Nobodies but I'm just gonna say that the worlds we went to in the game were not all that had been attacked. It's just that they were not in immediate danger okay? So they are going back to clean up all the loose ends and check out the worlds that they didn't check before.

Oh, and I don't own the Kingdom Hearts series.

Chapter One: Tainted Solitude

Sora flopped onto his bed and lay there with his hands behind his head. He could hear Donald and Goofy in the common room of the inn they were staying at. Sighing he held his hand up towards the ceiling and called for the keyblade. Nothing happened. He concentrated harder and finally the air shimmered and the keyblade formed in his hand. He held it there and looked at it before letting it go and watching it disappear inches from his face not flinching in the least.

_'I'm so tired of this,'_ he thought, _'Donald and Goofy have noticed it by now.'_ He turned onto his side and looked out the window and into the night sky. The stars flickered softly. He was becoming depressed and angry at the same time. The keyblade is slowly leaving him. It takes it longer and longer to answer his call when the heartless are around. Sometimes it never showed up at all. Luckily for him it was usually just a stray shadow or two and Donald and Goofy would take care of them easily. But the last time the keyblade refused to come they had been fighting a larger group of soldiers and had nearly been killed. They managed to defeat them all but it took some time.

Goofy and Donald had kept a closer eye on him after that. He had never had much privacy or time alone before but now he had none at all. One of them was almost always with him no matter what. _'I know I wield the keyblade and I know they need me but sometimes I wish they would just leave me alone!' _he screamed mentally. _'I need a break. I can't keep doing this day in and day out. I need to get away.'_ Ever since the day he had met them he had never been left alone. They were always near him. Always watching him. Following him. Smothering him. _'Oh god, if I don't get away I don't know what I will do.' _He began to breathe hard and his eyes widened as thoughts ran through his mind. His head was reeling and he almost missed the voices coming from the door.

He quickly calmed down and got off the bed, walking quietly to the door. Kneeling, he turned his ear to the keyhole and slowly breathed so the noise would not betray him. He didn't have to worry about his shadow because there was no light in the room other than the light from the window but it was facing the wrong way to cast the moonlight on the door. "Gwarsh Donald, what do you think is wrong with him? I mean why didn't he use the keyblade on the Heartless?" Goofy asked softly. _'They must be right next to the door.'_ thought Sora. "I don't know Goofy but I think we had better tell the king next time we see him."

Sora grimaced. _'Yea that's just what I need. King Mickey giving me a heart to heart talk. Then he will tell everyone that there is something wrong with me and then EVERYONE will be watching me all the time.'_ That's the last thing he wanted. He knew what he needed. A vacation. He just needed to be alone for a week or three._'But noooo,'_ he thought, _'the key bearer has a duty to help the worlds taken by darkness and can never get tired or upset and can never quit.'_ He frowned and crept back to his bed. _'What use is a key bearer when the key has left him?' _He sighed and closed his eyes and began to hum to himself. After a few moments Donald and Goofy entered the room getting ready for bed. They keep looking at him from the corner of their eyes, he could feel it.

Finally unable to stand it he opened his eyes and looked at them. "What? Is there something you want?" he asked. They looked at each other before Donald spoke. "We are going back to Twilight Town tomorrow. We need to restock on supplies and to find out if there are any other worlds near here that need our help. We are leaving early so you might want to get some sleep." Donald looked at him nervously as Goofy spoke up. "Yea that's right. And maybe you can go see Kairi and Riku back on Destiny Island." _'Right. Like that's going to happen. They are so wrapped up in each other it isn't funny.'_ Not long after Riku had helped him defeat Xemnas and they returned home Kairi had told them all the truth. While yes, she did like Sora and she loved him she, in truth, loved Riku more. Riku had tried to divert her but she was relentless in her pursuit of him and he had finally given in. Sora understood that Riku knew that he had loved her and had apologized profusely when he had given in but it hadn't changed the fact that she had chosen Riku.

He never told Donald and Goofy about it. He had never told anyone. He really didn't want to go back to Destiny Island. There was nothing for him there. During the years that he was gone his parents had died when their house caught fire and they were unable to escape. He found out after they had returned to their homes. While on the island he stayed with Riku. Well he was supposed to at least. He spent most of his time in the cave or in other places where they never thought to look. He could hear them calling his name for a while then they would stop. Every few days he would go back to the spare bedroom Riku's parents had given him and he would shower and change his clothes before collapsing on the bed. Every time they found him back in the house they would pester him about where he had been. And every time he would give them the same answer. Around.

He could never make up his mind when the gummi ship came to pick him up. He didn't know if he was grateful for leaving or upset for having to go with the mage and the knight. He mulled over it for a while then mentally shook his head. _'That doesn't matter right now. What matters is how to get away from these two. I have run all over Twilight Town often enough to know it fairly well. And I can probably get Pence and the others to help me. I have enough munny 'cause Donald and Goofy can't carry anymore and my munny pack is almost full… While they shop I can go see Hayner, Pence and Olette and get them to help. Maybe I can have them buy me some supplies for me while I hide in case Goofy and Donald come looking for me early.'_ As he continued to plan what he would do he drifted off to sleep.

Morning seemed to come early. Sora squinted at the early morning light that smacked him in the face. _'Okay,'_ he thought, _'that is the last time I take the bed closest to the window that faces the sunrise.'_ He grumbled and sat up, shaking his head. Goofy was already up and about, packing what he had brought. Donald was still sleeping. Sora raised an eyebrow at the puddle of drool on the ducks pillow and the loud rumbling coming from the small body. "Does he know he does that?" Sora asked as he reached over and lightly poked Donald in the forehead. "Do what? Drool or snore?" Goofy replied as Donald twitched and snorted before rolling over and resuming his snoring. "Both. They might have to wring out the sheets and pillow or they might get ruined." Goofy chuckled at Sora's jibe, "You might be right." Sora sniffed before turning to his own pack and stuffing what he had taken out of it back in.

A quarter of an hour later Goofy and Sora were packed and ready to go and took their packs to the common room to eat while they waited for Donald to finally wake up. Sora had just sat down with his second plate when he heard yelling coming from the room they had been staying in. Goofy grinned. "Donald's awake." Sora didn't look up from his plate and continued to apply himself to his breakfast. "Yup." He paused long enough to turn towards the room and catch the cursing coming from the other side. "He sounds mad." he stated as he resumed eating. "Yup." Goofy agreed as he drained the last of his coffee then looked at the door. They could hear crashing now and the few other people staying at the inn were opening their doors and looking around. "Should we have gotten him up?" Sora downed half his glass of juice before replying. "Nope. Should we get him breakfast?" "Nhaa. He'll be fine. I think." Goofy eyed the manager as she strode to the door and knocked on it before opening it and winced as a lighting bolt flew past her head.

Everything stopped at that point.

Sora looked at the door and the woman standing there as did everyone else. "Bad move Donald. Bad move." Sora shook his head at the ducks actions. They could hear him laugh nervously as the manager closed the door and slowly walked back to the employee's section of the inn. Goofy stood up and jogged over to their room and opened the door. "Donald, I have a suggestion." As he spoke the employee's door opened and the manager stepped back out carrying a large club. Goofy took one look at her as she stomped towards him and stepped aside. "Run Donald!" he called as she stormed into the room, raising her club. Donald squawked and streaked out of the doorway one hand on his hat as he ran from the manager. Goofy returned to his seat and started to finish his breakfast. When they finished Sora checked them out while Goofy finished packing for Donald and shouldered both packs. They waited for Donald and the manager to come close before stopping them and calming them both down. Having been told sternly that Donald was never to come back they left and headed for a clearing on the other side of the trees that surrounded the village.

Sora looked up as they waited for the gummi ship to arrive, shading his eyes with his hand. Donald dropped to the ground with a plop and grumbled about not having breakfast. "Why didn't you wake me up?" he demanded with a glare. "'Cause the last time we did you almost fried us." Sora replied as he pulled several pieces of fruit out of his pockets and dropped them in Donald's hands. Donald grumbled again, though it was half-heartedly and munched on the fruits. By the time he finished the gummi ship had finally arrived. _'About time,'_ Sora thought, _'it's already getting hot. And it's not even eight yet!'_ He sighed deeply as they boarded and slumped in his seat. Donald looked at him. "What's wrong with you?" Sora rolled his shoulders. "Nothing really. It's just that it was hot out there but it's nice and cool in here." Donald looked at him for a moment before turning back to the controls. Sora dosed off while they made their way back to familiar space. He jerked awake when the gummi ship landed near the gates to Twilight Town. He jumped down from the loading platform before it settled on the ground, waited, and then fell in behind his companions as they made their way to the gates. When they entered they were immediately assaulted by three individuals.

Sora ended up flat on the ground, gasping for air as Olette, Pence and Hayner piled on top of him, laughing and carrying on. "Uh, guys? Maybe you should get off of him. I don't think he is supposed to turn blue…" Donald said in an uncertain voice. The trio became quiet as they looked at Sora then jumped up quickly. Sora gasped and dragged as much air into his lungs as he could. He sat up coughing lightly and blinking. "Sorry about that Sora." Pence said, "But we saw your ship and it's been a while since we saw you last." "Yeah!" Olette added. "You didn't spend much time with us the last time you were here. So Donald and Goofy are gonna let you come hang out with us." She looked at Donald and Goofy, "Aren't you?" "Oh, she's giving them the 'Evil Eye'." Hayner whispered to Sora. "This should be good." Pence snickered at the horrified looks on their faces. "Y-y-yea. Yea we were. Weren't we Goofy?" Donald stammered. "Uh huh. That's exactly what we were gonna do." Goofy and Donald began to back away from the angry female. "Uh, Sora why don't you stay with them while we….go….get…the uh…supplies? Sound good to you? Uh, well we will meet you at the usual spot so um…BYE!" Donald cried as he and Goofy fled from the group of teenagers.

"Wow. That was great." Sora said appreciatively, "I haven't been able to get away from them for a while. Thanks Olette." She waved her hand, as if brushing away his thanks. "No problem. I do it all the time for these two. They are always getting into trouble." she said as she looked at the other two boys who grinned at her. "Yeah, she's always getting us out of trouble." Pence admitted. "She makes us pay her back though. So we have a running tab. She gets us out of trouble and we buy her sea salt ice cream." Hayner stated. Sora shook his head at their antics and stood up. "So what are we gonna do?" he asked as he stooped to pick up his pack. "Well," Olette said thoughtfully, "There is a fair in the sandlot. We could always go there." "Or," Pence challenged, "We could go to the movies." Hayner looked at the sky and frowned. "We could just go hang out at the usual spot. We have a bunch of cards there so we can play games or something." he suggested.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask of you." Sora said quietly. They looked at him. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Pence asked. Sora looked around and grimaced. "How about we go somewhere else and I will tell you there, okay?" His friends agreed and discussed the various places they could go when Sora objected to the usual spot. They ended up in Hayner's bedroom. Sora sat on the window seat. The window itself was wide open, letting in the late afternoon breeze and overlooked the garden. _'It took us a while to get here.'_ Sora thought, _'Sometimes I forget how far we have to go.' _The other three waited for him to begin. He sighed and turned to face them. Olette was perched on the dresser, Hayner was sitting in a chair that hung from the ceiling and Pence was on the bed. He trusted them far more than he did anyone else despite having known them for so little time. He was a little surprised to find that he trusted them more than Riku or Kairi. 'I guess times change.' The thought crossed his mind sadly. He then shook his head to clear it of stray thoughts and began to tell them how he felt. He told them about Riku and Kairi, Donald and Goofy, never being alone and even how the keyblade wouldn't answer his calls.

When he finished Olette looked like she could cry, while Pence and Hayner looked angry. "That's wrong!" Pence seethed, "You need a break. You can't keep going on like that! It's dangerous!" "Not to mention it's unhealthy." Hayner added, "But what do you want us to do?" Olette jumped off of the dresser. "What _else_ can we do?" She declared. "We have to help him! We can hide him or something. Or we can help him run away." She began to rant on what they could do while Sora looked out the window at the setting sun. _'Wait…setting sun? Oh no!'_ He echoed his thoughts aloud stopping Olette mid-rant. "What's the matter Sora? OH!" she cried as her hands flew to cover her mouth in horror. "They will be waiting won't they?" Hayner said softly. "No they won't." Pence said wickedly. Sora and Olette looked at him questioningly. "Why not?" Olette asked. "Because you and I are going down there to tell them that he is staying with us for a few **days**. If they know what's good for them they will agree. That way we can use the time to figure out what to do." Hayner grinned at him while Sora and Olette stared at him in wonder. "Oh my god." Olette muttered slowly. "That just might work." said Sora in a stunned voice. Then they all grinned at each other warmly. "Thankfully they are afraid of you Olette." Sora joked.

They quickly made their plans and the trio dragged Sora to meet their parents. They finally decided on Olette's house. Hayner and Sora took their bags over to her house while Pence and Olette headed for the usual spot to head off Donald and Goofy. They were greeted by her parents when they knocked on the door. Her mother led them to the living room where they dropped the bags next to the couch and settled in to wait. After half an hour of nerve wracking waiting Olette and Pence showed up with matching grins that almost split their faces in two. "I take it that it went well?" Hayner asked dryly. "Oh yea." Olette said as she continued to smile. She headed into the kitchen where her parents were and told them that she was home. She came back with several bags of junk food and a cooler of ice cream and one bag of paper plates and cups. The boys snagged their bags and headed upstairs to Olette's bedroom.

"Mom said that she will bring up the take out when it gets here after her and dad get some 'cause she's afraid that if she doesn't we will eat it all." she said with a laugh. They quickly settled upstairs and started to munch on the candy and chips that Olette's mother had gotten for them. A bag of chips and two sodas later they began to discuss what they should do for Sora. "Wait, wait wait." Pence said as he shook his head. "Why haven't we asked Sora what _he_ wants to do?" They all turned to look at Sora who had just started to chug another soda. He stopped when he noticed them staring at him. He set the soda down and sighed. "I don't know what I want to do. Not really at least. I know what I _need_ to do though… I need to get away from them. How long did you guys get me?" Pence rubbed the bridge of his nose before answering. "Four days. We got you four days. Today, the next two and then the next morning." "Yea. I'm sorry Sora but that's all we could get." Olette admitted sadly. "Thanks a lot guys. You don't know how much it means to me, really. Just four days is wonderful." Sora was grateful, he really was. "Did they say anything else?" "Um, I think so…" Olette thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Oh Yeah! They said that they were going to go see the King and that they would be back really late the day after tomorrow and that they would get you in the morning."

"Great." Sora said bitterly. "What's the matter Sora?" Hayner asked suspiciously. "If they are going to the King guess what they will tell him and what will happen." Hayner messed with a bottle cap then raised his eyes to meet Sora's. "They will tell him about the keyblade, right?" "Yes." Sora groaned. "Then he will want to come back and see what's wrong with me…" Sora shivered despite the warm air. "Right." Pence said as he stood. "We have two days to figure out what to do." Sora raised his eye brows. "Why just two days?" The other three grinned at him. "Do you honestly think that we are going to let you go having done nothing but plan?" they said as one. "We are going to have some fun while you are here." Olette said as she jumped up happily. "You know she's right Sora. Can't work all the time." Hayner added smiling. "Yea," Pence agreed, "We hand out tonight and start planning tomorrow." As Sora began to smile Olette's mother walked into the room carrying two boxes of pizza and several things of Chinese food.

"Hey guys." she said with a smile. "Foods here!" Hayner and Pence stood up and took the boxes from her and set them down on Olette's table. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious mom." Olette laughed. The three boys looked at each other, wondering how much she had heard. She turned to leave, paused then turned back. "Oh and you wont be making any plans." she stated, poking Pence in the forehead. "What do you mean we won't be making any plans?" Hayner questioned nervously. "Just what I said. You won't be making any that have to do with getting Sora away from the dog and that duck." "But mom," Olette cried angrily, "We have to get him away from them! We promised! Besides how did you know about Donald and Goofy?" Olette's mother held her hand up for silence. "Hear me out. While I went to go get all that junk food I saw them and I heard them talking about all of you. Olette, they seem scared of you." Olette blushed at that. "Anyway, they were talking about how they needed to keep an eye on him but figured that he would be fine until tomorrow. They said something about having some king come and get him." She noticed how Sora's face paled. "I take it you don't want to go with them then?" "No." Sora whispered and began to shiver. "I didn't think so." She shook her head and walked over to kneel at his side. What she did next both surprised him and touched him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. The others stared in silence as she did. She held him close, whispering to him and rocked him back and forth until he stopped shivering. When he did she let him go and smoothed his hair down. "It will be alright Sora. You are broken. But that which is broken can be fixed and we won't let them break you anymore."

Olette's mother stood up and looked at the others. "Tomorrow you are going to pack bags for a long trip. Expect to be gone for a week." She turned and started to walk out the door but Olette stopped her. "Mom what are you talking about?" "I received a letter earlier while you were gone." "A letter? From who?" Olette's mother smiled. The boys cringed at it. It reminded them of the look Olette had given Donald and Goofy. "Why, from your aunt silly. Who else would send a letter two days before they get here? She will take care of everything." Olette now had a smile to match her mothers. "Now we know who she gets it from." Pence whispered to the other two boys. "Yea no kidding. But I think her mother's is worse." Hayner whispered back. All Sora could do was agree. "Seriously? Aunt Dea? Your not kidding are you?" When Olette's mother shook her head Olette squealed happily. The boys looked on in confusion. "What are they talking about?" Sora asked Pence. "I have no idea. Hayner?" They looked to him as he shrugged. "That's great mom!" Her mother just grinned and left the room. When they boys tried to get an explination from Olette she just shrugged it off and told them not to worry about it and that everything would be fine. Finally giving up after an hour or so of trying with out success they gave up and enjoyed their time together that night, falling asleep around three or four in the morning on Olette's bedroom floor.

Woo hoo! All done. So do I suck or what?

Anyhoo, tell me what yall think and if I am any good I will make a second chapter if not then oh well I might do it anyway. Nonetheless please review.


	2. Chapter 2

'Ello! I have returned! How bad is that? I already started the second chapter because I checked it the day after I put it up and found the first review. I am such a weirdo. Hoorah for Yunagirlamy! Many thanks! Alrighty then, lesse how badly I can butcher the rest of this thing.

Do I really have to do the disclaimer thing? I mean seriously. Would I be writing this if I owned the Kingdom Hearts series?

Chapter Two: The Burning Truth

A warm, tasty aroma wafted through the rooms on the first floor and found their way up a flight of stairs and drifted under a door into a room at the end of the hall. Several lumps on the floor twitched and rolled over. One of them groaned and tried to sit up. However they didn't manage very well due to the table they were lying under. The other three lumps jumped at the sharp cracking sound and looked around groggily. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Pence rolled out from under the table clutching his head. Sora rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What time is it?" he asked before stretching. Olette winced at the popping sounds coming from his shoulders and dug around her nightstand to find her clock. "Far too early. That's what time it is." Hayner muttered grumpily.

Sora glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Not a morning person I take it?" he asked. "No I'm a morning person. It's just that I haven't had much sleep yet. So I apologize in advance if I bite your head off in the next half hour or so." Hayner stated. "Ok. I understand. But trust me, Donald can be worse." Sora admitted as he searched for his left shoe. "Hey Sora," Pence said, still holding his head, "Rule of five man. If you can't find one shoe it's within five feet of the other. It works for me." He stopped rubbing his head and started to look for his bag, shifting through various wrappers and empty chip bags. "Its seven thirty." Olette yawned after she had finally drug it out from under a pile of clothes. Sora grunted in response as he continued to look for his shoe. Sure enough, Pence was right. Not even five feet from where his other shoe had been, his left was wedged under Olette's bed. _'How the hell did it get there?'_ he wondered as he pried it out.

Olette stumbled over to the door and opened it. She stood there and sniffed the air in the hallway. Hayner and Pence watched her with suspicion before sniffing the air as well. "Pancakes." Olette whispered. "What?" Sora asked. "PANCAKES!" Hayner and Pence jumped up and grabbed Sora's arms and pulled him over to the door and followed Olette out into the hall. They jumped down the first set of steps, hit the landing and turned sharply and ran down the second set and slid to a stop in the kitchen next to Olette's mother who stood at the stove with a flipper in one hand and a skillet in the other. As they stopped she turned to them with her green eyes sparkling and her waist length, earthy hair swayed from its tie. "Ah, I see that you are finally awake." she said with a smile. "Now go wash up and I will finish this batch of pancakes so you can eat."

Olette snagged Sora's hand and tugged him to the bathroom with Hayner while Pence ran back upstairs to get their bags. Sora was drying his face when Pence came back and tossed his bag at him. Hayner started to dig through his own bag until he found his toothbrush and looked at it. "Wouldn't it be better to brush our teeth after we eat? I mean that way we don't waste the water and stuff." Olette nodded. "Yea, I think it would be better. We can brush them after we eat." They finished washing up and headed back to the kitchen. Waiting for them were tall stacks of pancakes and all manner of things to put on them. They sat down and Sora looked at Olette's father who was already making surprising progress on his plate. "Sidus!" her mother said sternly as she glared at her husband. "Set an example would you!? You are acting like an animal." Sidus stopped with a fork-full of pancakes halfway to his mouth. He quickly put his fork down and swallowed what he had been chewing. "Uh, of course dear." he said as he tucked his blond hair behind his ear. Olette, Hayner and Pence were snickering and trying not to smile.

Sidus cleared his throat and looked each teenager in the eyes, his own, a deep blue, were sincere and stern. "We have been given this amazing meal and you should all be thanking Sono for the food you are about to eat." He clapped his hands together once and bowed his head. Olette and the others copied him so Sora did as well. The other three were still trying not to laugh but failing spectacularly. They held their pose for a moment before Sidus lifted his head. "Ok, thanking over, dig in!" He picked up his fork and started to inhale his food. Hayner, Pence and Olette finally gave up and simply started to laugh. Sora smiled and started to eat his own stack while the others began to talk. Sono walked back to the table carrying two jugs, one of juice and one of milk. She filled everyone's glasses then sat down at her own plate and began to eat. They talked and joked at the table for the greater part of an hour even after they had finished their breakfast. _'This isn't so bad. I wish I could do this more often.'_ Sora thought sadly.

"Alright. Listen up youngins." Sono drawled as she leaned back in her chair. "We are going to be going out in a bit. That means showers are in order. And since we have only two bathrooms Olette and I will go first." She stood up and took her plate to the sink and washed it before placing it in the drain. Olette followed her and did the same and they went upstairs. "Well boys," Sidus smiled, "I guess that this means that we get to clean off the table! Lets hop to it." The boys groaned and started to clean up the kitchen. Luckily they didn't make too big of a mess. Hayner and Sidus washed and dried the dishes while Sora cleaned off the table and counters. Pence swept the floor and put things away. Almost as soon as they had finished Olette and Sono made their way into the kitchen. Olette was wearing what she normally would wear everyday but Sono was dressed far different that what she had yesterday. Instead of comfortable jeans and a shirt she was wearing baggy camo pants in lime green and neon purple while her shirt was a simple white spaghetti strap top and she was wearing raggedy plaid shoes that had holes in them. Sora gaped at her in shock. _'Where did she get THAT outfit?!'_ he thought with surprise. _'It's horrendous! I wonder where I can get one.'_ "Ok, we're done. Two of you follow us." Sidus and Hayner waved at Sora and Pence to go with them. "We will take our turn after we finish the dishes." Sidus explained over his shoulder as he stored a skillet in a cabinet. Pence and Sora followed the two women into the living room.

Sono waited for Sora go get his bag before taking him upstairs and into the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. She pointed out all the towels and things he might need and left him alone, closing the door behind her. Sora looked around the room for a bit before heading to the counter. He dropped his bag on it and started to dig out some extra clothes and other things. When he had everything he needed he jumped into the shower. He didn't want to take too much time in case the hot water ran out. He cursed when some of the shampoo ran into his eyes and hurriedly turned his gaze into the stream of water. When he was finished his eye still stung a bit but he felt much better having clean clothes on. Sliding in his socks to the sink he brushed his teeth then gathered his stuff when he was done. Shoving his dirty clothes and the towels he used into a hamper he made his way through the bedroom and into the hall. Placing his bag in Olette's room he went downstairs to let Hayner or Sidus know the other bathroom was free. Sidus grinned and went upstairs to take a shower since Hayner had already taken over the downstairs bathroom. Sono, Olette and Pence were already sitting in the living room and talking about what they were supposed to be doing today.

Sora ran his fingers through his hair and put his shoes on before sitting next to Pence and joining their conversation. Hayner walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and was shortly followed by Sidus coming downstairs. Sono smiled at them and stood up. "Okay. You two get your shoes on and then we'll go. Wait, I have to get my purse while you do though." She ran to her bedroom to get her purse and met them at the door. Pence was rubbing his cheek where it looked like someone had pinched him. She smiled when he glared at Sidus out of the corner of his eye. Sidus was tying the laces on his pink striped hiking boots that matched his old pants with pink patches in the knees. What could she say? Her husband likes the colors pink and grey.

They left and walked around town for a while then spent several hours at a carnival until noon then headed out to find a diner to eat at. They goofed around, acted like idiots and generally just had fun. They went to see a movie and shopped at some fun stores before Sono and Sidus called it quits saying that it was too hard to keep up with them. They stopped again for supper at the same diner then went shopping for groceries. Sono and Sidus waited at a café while Pence and Hayner ran home and talked to their parents and packed another bag. They carried everything home and helped put the groceries away. They were about to go upstairs to play games and things when Sono gave them another bag of junk food and a bag of ice cream with spoons. They smiled their thanks and stayed up late again. They told stories and picked on each other until well after midnight. Everyone else had fallen asleep except for Sono, who had been reading in her room before checking on the teenagers. She quietly made her way through the objects on the floor to pick up the tubs of melting ice cream and several opened sodas. She carried them back downstairs and put the ice cream in the freezer and threw the opened sodas away.

She sighed and checked the door to make sure it was locked. When she stepped on the tiles her foot slid out from under her and she started to fall but caught herself on the small bench next to the door. She let out a shaky breath and looked at what she stepped on. It was an envelope. It also had Sora's name on it. Sono really didn't want to be nosey but she recognized the seal on the back. Donald and Goofy had the same seal on a few of their things. She looked at the stairs before she broke the seal and opened the letter. As she read it she began to frown then began to snarl and growl. _'How DARE they do this?! How dare they even THINK about doing this to a child!?' _her mind seethed. She clenched her teeth together so hard that they felt like they would splinter and her green eyes flashed with a promise of agony for the knight and mage.

She stood there for several minutes, trembling with rage and clutching the letter in her hand. They were coming to get him early and they were bringing their king. The letter also said that they were going to pick up Riku and Kairi before collecting him. Sono didn't like that, not at all. Olette had taken her aside before they took their showers and told her about what had happened between Sora, Riku and Kairi. Olette had also told her of Sora's neglect to tell Donald and Goofy about his two friends. She didn't know what they would do when they found out but she figured that it wouldn't be very good. She sighed as she looked out the window to the night sky. _'Sister, please hurry. Please, I need you to help me.'_ She cast her thought as far as she could, pleading that it would reach her sister somehow before locking the door and going to bed.

Far away, past vast dimensions and planets, on a world that was lush with animal and plant life but almost entirely devoid of human life a pair of molten gray eyes snapped open with a confused look about them. The woman who they belonged to sat up as the confusion slowly faded from her eyes. She was almost a copy of Sono but her eyes rivaled Sono's warm green ones and her long, curling white hair was nothing like Sono's straight, brown hair. She tossed back the pale blue sheets and slid from her bed. The room she had been sleeping in was opulent and rich looking. She headed for a large window and gazed out at the stars. "I hear you." she murmured, "I hear you and I shall reply." She closed her eyes and felt for Sono's touch and mind. When she found it she felt the turmoil in her sleeping mind. She did not know what was bothering her sister but she sent the feelings of comfort and consent to her and Sono calmed, then settled into a restful sleep. Dea yawned and looked at the clock hanging on the wall then walked back to her own bed and crawled under the sheets before falling asleep again. Morning would come early.

The next day.

Sora stirred slowly and opened his eyes. The other three were still asleep so he quietly left the room in order to avoid disturbing them. He went to the downstairs bathroom and washed his face. He checked the kitchen but it appeared that Sono and Sidus hadn't gotten up yet. Unwilling to bother anyone he decided to sit in the living room and read one of the several books that were lying around. When he sat on the couch he noticed an envelope lying on a nearby table, the letter crumpled and about to fall off. He recognized that envelope all to well. He stretched out a trembling hand and picked up the letter, smoothing it out in his lap before he began reading it. When he finished he sat there staring at nothing, his mind deep in shock and despair. _'I don't want to leave again! I don't want to go! They can't make me…I won't let them!'_ His fingers ripped through the paper with ease until someone snatched it out of his grip leaving nothing but strips with illegible writing on them. He looked over his shoulder to find Sidus and Sono standing behind him. Sidus had what was left of the paper in his hand and Sono was frowning at him.

"Damn. I knew I should have gotten up earlier." she said with a huff. "Yea I guess we should have." Sidus agreed quietly. Sono growled a little. "I really didn't want him to see that but I guess it's too late now." Sidus looked at his wife from the corner of his eye. "Love, why don't you go start breakfast while Sora and I have a nice chat, hm?" Sono looked at him then nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Sidus sighed and flopped on the other side of the couch. "Well Sono told me about the letter." he waved the ripped sheet about lazily. "Well they know where we live. This letter proves it." Sora blinked and looked down at his hands. "Can they track you in any way?" Sora started to shake his head but paused. "I don't know if they can or not… They might be able to." he said reluctantly. Sidus raised an eyebrow and rubbed his nose before speaking. "Even if they can it doesn't matter." When Sora stared at him Sidus smiled widely. "You are not the only one who can do magic you know." When Sora glanced at him questioningly he stood up and crumpled the letter before tossing it into a nearby wastebasket.

"Let's go squirt." he said. "I think she is making omelets for breakfast." Sidus waited for Sora to stand up then dropped his arm around his shoulders and propelled him towards the kitchen and Sono's cooking. Not long after they had sat down Hayner, Olette and Pence stumbled down the stairs and slumped in their chairs. That morning started much like the first until a light knocking sounded on the front door. Sono looked up towards the entryway suspiciously. Sidus stood up as Pence walked down the stairs with his bag, hair still wet from his shower. Olette ran ahead of her father and looked through the peephole in the door and froze. Sidus gently moved her aside and looked through it as well. He then turned to Olette and mouthed several things at her and she nodded.

Quietly they made their way back to the other four, Sidus whispered to the teenagers and they went upstairs to get the bags they had packed for the stay at Olette's Aunt Dea's house. When they were gone Sidus turned to Sono and hugged her, pressing a kiss on her temple. "That Riku kid is out there." he murmured into her skin. "His girlfriend is with him. I don't think Olette saw anyone else so all she knows is that those two are out there. They walked up after I moved her." He paused as Riku and Kairi knocked on the door again. When they stopped he continued to tell Sono of the situation. "The two Sora is always with are out there as well. And there are a few more of them too." He continued to tell her what the people looked like. He described Cloud, Squall (or Leon however you prefer, but I will continue to refer to him as Squall), the king and Cid.

About that time Sora, Olette, Pence and Hayner crept down the stairs bags in hand. Two of them had the bags Sono and Sidus had packed. They smiled their thanks and took them before pointing to Olette and then the kitchen. Olette nodded and tapped Hayner on the shoulder, waving at him to follow her. Hayner tapped on the other two's shoulders and jerked his head in Olette's direction. They followed her out of the living room and into the kitchen where they waited for the adults.

The knocking at the front door came more often as Sono gave her bag to Sidus and stood in the middle of the room, her arms hanging limply at her sides. She then began to speak under her breath and held her arms at shoulder height, with the palms facing out. Her hair began to lift and a circular diagram appeared below her feet. She finished chanting and spoke only one word that Sidus could hear: Obscure. Now they couldn't be followed by their sent or by any evidence that showed that they had been in the house for the past few hours, such as the smells of their breakfast and the stronger sent of shampoos and soaps, because they had dissipated. She then turned to him and took her bag before they walked into the kitchen.

The others were waiting in the large pantry and each was carrying another bag. Sono smiled at Olette when she held hers open so they could see. Each bag had several bottles of water and several packets of dried and canned foods in them and a blanket each. Sidus snagged two identical bags out from under a shelf. They were larger versions of the bags that Olette and the others had. They had different supplies and more foodstuffs, including can openers, traveling kettles, pots, general camping gear and first aid items. Sidus also dragged a large tent out from under the shelf after he handed his bag of clothes to Sono who attached it to her own. When they had all fitted themselves out with their supplies and bags Sidus waited behind Pence while Sono moved past the three boys and stopped next to Olette. She turned and grinned at everyone and slowly opened the back door and checked to see if anyone was in the back yard. When her search found nothing she signaled to the others and they trailed out the door and waited for Sidus to lock and shut it securely.

They quickly made their way over the back fence and through an overgrown yard and out into the street. It amazed both Sidus and Sono that Pence, Hayner and Sora hadn't asked or complained about what they were doing. _'Olette must have told them.'_ Sidus decided. _'That's my smart girl!'_ he thought with pride. Sono had suspected the same and was very proud of her daughter. They made their way through the town and into the forest on the other side of the wall by climbing one of the tall buildings and climbing down a tree. They had decided to cross the wall that way in case the gummi ship was parked next to the gate. If they had left anyone in it they could have been seen and the others would have been notified of their location.

Once it hit midday they stopped to rest in a small clearing with a stream running next to it. When they had settled Sono and Sidus told them what was going on. They had been right when they guessed that Olette had told them that Riku and Kairi were at the door but were surprised to find out who else was with them. Sora quickly became depressed and it took the effort of all five of his companions to get him out of it.

"So mom, when is Aunt Dea going to get here?" Olette asked finally. Sono paled as her daughter spoke. "Oh hell. I forgot that we were supposed to wait at the abandoned house…" Sidus said sheepishly. "DAD! How could you forget?!" Olette cried. "Well with all that happened this morning it wasn't very hard. We make mistakes too, you know." he said defensively. "Don't worry about it." Sono interrupted. "I can get in contact with her if I need to." Hayner had his back to them and was looking out in the forest towards the town. "Uh, Miss Sono? You might want to do that." The others looked at him and became very quiet. After a moment they heard a voice calling Sora's name and several others calling for the other three. Sono and Sidus cursed. They jumped up and Sidus began to throw what they had been using back into a bag while the others cleaned up the mess that they had made. While they did so Sono faced the sky and closed her eyes and began to call.

Almost immediately she felt a response. The touch was familiar and felt very cold. Most definitely not her sister but she knew who it was. '**Glacies, is that you?' **Sono asked hesitantly. **'Ah, Sono! We have been waiting for you. Actually I am looking around town. Did you know that there are some really weird people in town right now? And I mean besides us. They came from your house. I think they are looking for you. But yeah, where are you anyway?' **Sono sighed with relief. She knew that if Glacies was around the others were sure to follow. **'We are out in the forest. There was a situation and we had to leave town. The problem is that the situation followed us. Who is with you and can you help us out?' **She felt what passed as a snort in her mind. **'Of course we can! Who do you think you are talking to? Anyway most of the gang is here. And, naturally, your sister as well. Pluma stayed behind to anchor the gate though. If we knew where you were exactly we could have always moved this end but I don't think we could anchor it where you are at.' **He began to mutter to himself. As he did Sono heard the voices coming closer and felt the tugging at her arm. Olette stood there trying to drag her away from the clearing and back into the trees where Sidus and the boys were waiting.

**'Glacies we have to go. The strangers are looking for us and they have gotten too close. We are going to try to make our way back towards the town. Try to meet us somewhere. I really don't want to go back inside the walls because it would be too easy for them to find us.' **She felt Glacies sigh. **'Yeah sure,'** he said.** 'We'll meet you at the old stone pillar.' 'Alright, we'll be there. And Glacies? Thank you.'** she murmured to his fading touch. She finally gave in and allowed Olette to pull her into the forest. They blended into the tree line just before several people entered the clearing. Making sure they were hidden by the enormous trunks and the thick bushes the six observed the groups following them in silence. Sora paled as Riku and Kairi wondered into the clearing from the direction of town. Cloud and Squall walked along the stream and sloshed across it to join them. They watched in silence as the four began to discuss their search. "No luck yet Riku?" Squall asked quietly.

Riku shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Kairi laid one of her hands on his shoulder and looked at the two men. "We found some tracks," she admitted. "And they led us here but other than that we really haven't found anything." Riku growled and snapped his teeth together in frustration. "I don't believe it! He doesn't have a mean bone in his body!" he cried out franticly, waving his arms about as he stomped away from the other three. "Donald and Goofy are wrong! Sora can't be dangerous! He just can't." he finished in a depressed whisper. "Riku calm down." Kairi said calmingly. "They just said that he might be. They said that he was unstable remember? That's why we have to catch him and get him help. It's why the king is here. He is going to take him back to the castle with him to watch him." She moved to his side and rubbed his back to sooth him. Sora stood there dumbstruck. _'Dangerous? Unstable? Why would they think that? Just because I can't call the key blade all the time doesn't mean that I am unstable does it? Am I dangerous __because__ I'm unstable?'_ he questioned himself desperately.

He closed his eyes against the burning of tears and choked back a sob. Feeling a warm hand on his head he blinked his tears away and looked up to see Sidus smiling at him warmly and frowned when he winked at him. He looked at the others and was surprised to see them smiling at him as well. "We don't care what they say. We know there is nothing wrong with you that a little rest won't cure. Well that and a drastic change of scenery." Sidus said with a quiet chuckle. The others nodded and if possible their smiles grew wider. Sora's lips twitched and started to grow into a real smile. Something he knew hadn't graced him in far too long. _'They are my family. They are my friends. I know they won't let me down.' _He nodded happily and adjusted his pack when the others did the same. They began to head deeper into the forest but as they went around the trunk of a nearby tree they ran straight into Cid. Everyone cried out in surprise and Sono, who had been leading the group, crashed into him and fell back, landing heavily on the ground. Their cries brought Cloud and the others to see what was going on.

When they came up behind Sidus they stared in shock at the group. Cid was rubbing his collar bone and Olette was helping her mother up. Sora was hidden from their view by Sidus but Hayner and Pence were not enough to hide him from Cid. "Sora! There you are! We been lookin' all over for ya' kid." Sora cringed as Riku tried to jerk Sidus out of the way. "I wouldn't do that!" Sono cried out. Everyone winced as Sidus clocked the young man in the jaw. He collapsed on the ground and Kairi dropped to her knees beside him to make sure he wasn't hurt badly and glared at Sidus and then the others when they began to snicker. Sidus blinked as he looked down at him. "Umm…..My bad?" he said nervously. Sono shook her head and sighed. "I did try to warn him did I not?" "Yeah mom, you did." Olette said between bits of laughter. They stopped laughing when Squall tried to move past Sidus in an attempt to grab Sora. Squall grimaced when Sidus caught his wrist and squeezed it tightly. "Don't even think about it." he growled.

Sora edged closer to Sono and Olette as everyone watched in fascination as Squall and Sidus began to fight. They settled against the trees to wait for the men to stop. Apparently, Squall didn't take to well to being ordered around by someone he didn't know and Sidus didn't like the fact that they were trying to get someone under his protection with out asking. "Men." Sono muttered as she passed a bowl of popcorn to Olette. "Yeah, no kidding. I mean couldn't they just talk it out or something?" she asked as she passed the bowl over to Cid. "I have no idea hun." he said as he shook his head. He passed the bowl to Hayner and Pence and munched on a piece. He stopped and watched them pass it on to Cloud, Kairi and Riku who had woken up in time to enjoy the show. "Hang on a sec. Where the hell did you get the popcorn?" he asked curiously. Sidus popped up next to him. "You know what? That is a really good question." he said with a smile as he stole some of Cid's popcorn. Everyone but Sono and Olette gaped at the man then at the two tussling on the ground in front of them and back again. He was an exact match from his hair right down to his worn grey jeans and pink striped hiking boots.

The Sidus who was standing next to Cid sauntered over to Sono and draped his arms around her shoulders. "So babe," he said huskily. "What say you and me go off somewhere by ourselves and leave them behind?" Sono smiled and gave him a heated once-over. By now Squall and the first Sidus had noticed what was happening and had stopped fighting to stare at the other man. Well Squall stared; Sidus gave him a look that should have killed him. Sono smiled to match Sidus the second before jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow. All the air left his lungs and he fell to his hands and knees, wheezing. After a moment the man stood up and turned to face them. He no longer looked like Sidus. He winked at them all and brushed a hand through his spiky purple hair. His eyes were a golden brown and he was dressed in only a pair of black leather pants and worn out sneakers.

Sidus stood up and walked over to the new man with the possible intent to do bodily harm but before he could Olette had launched herself at him laughing happily. "Uncle Geminus!" she cried. The newly identified Geminus laughed as well and caught the flying girl. He spun her around in a circle and hugged her close. "Olette! It's been so long. You've gotten so big!" Sono and Sidus smiled at them, the murderous look fading from his eyes. The other teenagers smiled as well even though they did not know the man, because they were happy to see Olette smile so brightly. Riku and the others simply gaped at the odd group, their thoughts running along similar tracks, mostly wondering where the hell Geminus had come from and why they were all so weird.

They stared in shock as Geminus put Olette back on the ground and took her by the hand and waved at her parents to follow. Sidus looked at Pence, Hayner and Sora until they joined them. "Now kids," Geminus said in a cheery voice as he began to weave a complicated patter through the air. "Don't forget to wave at the idiots!" He finished his pattern and sharply barked two guttural words in a language that no one could understand, and when he did the air began to solidify in front of him and after a few seconds formed into a portal to the town wall. Geminus grabbed Olette's hand and pulled her in after him as he jumped into it. The others followed them in with Sono brining up the rear. She turned and smiled at Cloud and the rest who were still standing there. Kairi, who had regained some sense, tried to get to the portal but it shut before she could get to it. Cid shook himself out of his stupor and cursed. "Did anyone recognize the area they were at?" he asked as he started to make his way towards the town.

"Uh, yeah," Riku said quietly as he began to stumble after them. "It's near the town gate. I think." Cid nodded and kept going with the rest hurrying to catch up.

Meanwhile, our other group was making their way a little deeper into the forest. Geminus was in the lead with Sono and Sidus behind and the four teenagers trailing along behind. They were all talking to each other and laughing when one of them would run into a tree. They eventually made their way to a small set of ruins. Sono stopped and leaned against what was left of an old wall. Geminus looked at her with curiosity. "I told Glacies that we would meet him here." she said as she pointed to a half hidden pillar made of stone. The three teenage boys stared in awe at the massive structure while the others made themselves comfortable on the ground. The pillar was a deep grey veined with green. Several trees had grown around it spiraling up and around it to reach the sun. Vines hung from the tree branches and draped across what was left of a small building, creating a calming, mystic place.

Sora sat down against a wall near Sono and Sidus. Hayner and Pence followed him and soon Olette joined them. They sat in silence and listened to the sounds of the birds and other living things that they couldn't see. After almost half an hour of silence Sono began to dig through her bag. Out of the bottom she pulled an oddly shaped case. After opening it she gently lifted a small harp and began to tune it quickly but with care. When she had it tuned to her satisfaction she began to pluck a simple melody. Sidus and Geminus looked at each other and smiled. Geminus began to sort through various small branches until he found one that suited his taste. He then began to run his hands over the wood in a manner that was almost loving. As he did the wood began to change its shape and slowly turned into a flute. He lifted the instrument to his lips and began to play a melody that complimented Sono's harp. Sidus then joined in with a set of shepherds pipes. Each melody was simple but when they were combined they became extremely complex and they almost seemed to twirl around each other in the air as they all waited to see what would happen next.

Okay. Second Chapter done. Now what? I mean I could do lots of things now right? Dea could come find them or Glacies could come alone… Do we want it to be dramatic or quiet or semi-dramatic? And I still have some people to introduce. Im sorry it took so long to get it out though and I am not very happy with the way this chapter went but oh well. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. Man I really suck. I started this the day after I posted the first and then I got stuck for a while, working on it here and there between episodes of Sailor Moon and Ouran High School Host Club .'. What can I say I like my anime… Anyway. Read and Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Wha! I'm sorry I took so long. A lot of stuff has happened since I updated last. Deaths, fights, pranks and other such things that take up time. And rain. There had been a lot of rain. One of our family friends died and I had spent a lot of time watching her before and she died over a weekend. Then my dad kept hauling me out to the farm to work on the horse pen and while we were there one weekend my sister hurt her hip and she hasn't been to work in a while so I had no access to the computer. Sorry Yunagirlamy. One of my best friends had spent the week over here. I was very happy. No one can make me laugh like she can. I love her to death really. She had moved to Nevada a few years ago but she moved back so now I am very happy. Any way ON TO THE STORY!—

Wow, that was a really long time ago honestly. That note is kinda old now and I lost track of where I was going with this chapter so I let it sit while I did other things. I didn't mean for it to sit so long, sorry. Ah, I have been working on this but something seemed off so I spent a lot of time trying to find what it was. I also spent a lot of time trying to organize the characters. They are so fun even if they are a little hard to write for…..at this rate though a lot of them will be different than what I want them to be so I guess I will just let them run with the keyboard and go where they will…anyway on to the story. Sorry for the long-as-hell wait.

Chapter Three: Radiant Home And The Void

Far out in the forest, at the site of some magical ruins a man who had been playing a flute stopped suddenly. The man and woman who had also been playing musical instruments stopped as well to stare at him. "Geminus?" asked Sono as she put down a small harp "Is something wrong? Is someone contacting you?" Four teenagers sitting against an old wall turned to listen to his answer. "Yeah. Apparently three of the idiots are still looking around town." He muttered absently. "The two idiots that follow Sora – Donald and Goofy, wasn't it? – are running around with another idiot in a black robe." Sora and the others winced and Geminus raised an eyebrow. "Not a good thing I take it?" Sidus shook his head. "No, not a good thing at all." Geminus frowned and looked at the sky from between the branches of the trees. After a few tense moments a sly grin crept across his face. "Geminus, what are you planning?" Sono asked warily. "I know that grin and it usually means no good." Geminus simply shook his head and wiggled his eyebrows at her comically. "What would you say to having a little fun with the idiots before we leave?" Sono and Sidus glanced at each other as the teenagers stared at him. Slowly they all began to grin and Geminus and Sono burst out laughing. "Alright," she said as she wiped away tears from her eyes, "Lets have some fun then, shall we?" "Right!" Olette said as she jumped up, "Give them the run around." The others stared at her as she stood there grinning evilly. "She gets it from you, I swear." Sidus said as he shook his head at his spouse. "Of course she does." Sono agreed as Geminus reached out and contacted one of his companions. "Let the fun begin." he muttered.

Elsewhere, in Town-

Sidus, Olette, Sono, Hayner, Sora and Pence were sighted all over the town. The King, Donald and Goofy were seeing them everywhere. Around every corner they spotted one of them. When they gave chase they would disappear around a different corner and vanished by the time they made it to said corner. After an hour of fruitless searching Donald started to scream and threw a fit. Many people stopped to stare. As the king and Goofy tried to calm him down several people who looked like they were in their early twenties started to snicker and smile. They scooted aside to make room for someone who was poking them in the back. Donald looked up in time to see Olette, Hayner, Pence and Sora whisper something to the snickering group of young adults. He gaped at them for a second until all four teenagers looked at him and smirked. The young adults followed their gaze and burst into gales of laughter as the teenagers melted back into the crowd. The others were still laughing. At him. That did it. He jumped up and charged after Sora and his friends as he waived his mage's wand in the air above his head.

Goofy and the King stared at him with disbelief as he tried to bash his way through the group of laughing bystanders. Tried being the active word. They were deflecting his blows with ease even though they were laughing hard enough to cry. Finally one had collapsed from lack of air and was gasping on the ground leaving a gap in the people surrounding them. Donald rushed through it as the King and Goofy followed him. The four teenagers were standing down the road a ways and snickered as the irritated mage stomped towards them. Right before he was in arms reach they turned and fled, making their way to a maze of alleyways. Donald yelled at them and started to chase them. Goofy and the King followed as best they could but Donald was finally catching up to them. They winced as Donald reached out and clipped the back of Pence's leg with his staff, sending the boy into a tumble then a painful crash. The other three stopped and stared at him with disgust. Pence sat up and shook his head as if to clear it and took Sora's hand to get up. He was bleeding from several scrapes and his knee already looked swollen and red. Olette reached down and trailed her fingers across the damaged joint leaving shimmering trails of green and gold in their wake.

The trails flared and sank into his skin and the swelling began to diminish before their eyes. The King and Goofy finally caught up with them and helped Donald corner them next to a dead end alley. They didn't like the way Donald had caught them but were glad that he did. Donald stood, panting raggedly before them. "Alright," he wheezed. "No more games. Sora, come on. You are going to go with us whether you want to or not." As he spoke they heard footsteps pounding on the road. Before they could even turn around several forms flew overhead causing them to duck. Immediately they straightened and quickly looked at the area ahead of them. Before there had only been four people but now there were more. The group of young adults who had been laughing earlier stood between them and the teenagers.

As they gaped at these strangers one of the females, wearing a black leather vest over a white t-shirt, waist length, blood red hair streaked with grey highlights, multi-pocketed carpenter pants and biker boots, looked Pence over then glared at the mage, her eyes, the color of the desert sands, flashing with malice. She stomped over and yanked his wand out of his hands and whacked him over the head with it. "What the hell is the matter with you?!" she demanded angrily. "What in the name of the Seven Hells made you do that? He's just a kid!" She punctuated her words with more blows to his head. Pence and the others started to laugh again. They wrapped their arms around themselves to ease the pain of their over extended chest muscles. Donald finally managed to get his wand back and jumped away from the crazy girl. The others stood behind her effectively denying them access to the cornered teenagers. Mickey sighed and looked at them all. "Come on guys. We need to take Sora back to our home." He paused and looked Sora in the eyes. "I am not going to tolerate this much longer. I really don't want to hurt you but if you don't I might have to. Please don't make me. If you keep running off I will have no other choice." Mickey rubbed his forehead as if in pain.

Sora raised an eyebrow and blinked. The others simply looked at him, waiting for a response. A few moments later Sora smiled and, what could only be called cheerfully, flipped them off. Mickey and the others twitched as the group around Sora laughed. Sora cleared his throat and looked the animal trio in the eye and spoke though strangely his voice was rather girlish and completely absurd since it didn't match him at all. "Look," he said. "I don't know you. I don't want to go with you. It's also obvious that this kid doesn't want to go with you either." He waved his hand in front of his face as if to drive off a nasty smell and wrinkled his nose. "So why don't you just leave." He turned away from them and crossed his arms over his chest and stared lazily at the wall of the alley muttering softly, "Man, how do I get suckered into this mess? Geminus owes me big time." Mickey, Donald and Goofy stared at him in confusion. Goofy laughed a little nervously and took a step towards the teenagers and their protectors. "Uh, Sora, buddy? Are you feeling alright?"

Sora continued to ignore them until Hayner poked him in the side with his elbow. When Sora finally looked at him he jerked his thumb at Goofy. "Hey, they're talking to you." Sora groaned and dropped his face in his hands. "I don't want to talk to them though." he said in a loud whisper. "All I want to do is go home." They started to bicker until Mickey spoke again. "Look Sora we _are_ going to take you home." He said as he reached out to him. "So come on. Let's go." Sora looked at him as if he had lost his mind and threw his hands up in annoyance and made a disgusted sound. "I give up. I quit. I will not be apart of this anymore. I'm leaving." The other kids sighed loudly and Sora turned to them. "What?" Pence ran his finger over a scrape and hissed at the pain before looking Sora in the eye. "You can't just up and leave like that. We have to find Sono and her group." Sora rolled his eyes and grumbled. One of the men in the other group, dressed to match the crazy girl, looked at them. His wide innocent eyes were a deep, deep purple, and his hair flowed slightly past his shoulders, the blue and grey highlights complementing the rest of his black hair wonderfully. "Wait is that all we have been waiting for?" he asked. "Well, yeah." Pence said as he frowned. "Why?"

The other man gave a frustrated yell and smacked his forehead. "Ye gods! Why didn't you tell me before? Glacies talked to her earlier and he's gone to meet her." As he spoke the others simply stared at him. Sora's eye twitched and he glared at the young man. "Where are they going to meet?" He began to respond but stopped suddenly and looked at Goofy, Donald and Mickey. "Uhhh, maybe I should tell you later." He then smiled brightly. "Oh, I know! I will show you instead. Onwards!" His friends shook their heads and smiled while Mickey and the others stood there, dumbfounded. When the happy young man tried to pass they blocked his way. "I'm sorry but we can't let you pass until Sora comes with us." Mickey said as he looked up at him. "We can't pass unless he stays?" he echoed unhappily. The three nodded and the young man looked like he would cry. "Hey, hey it's alright." said the crazy girl as she rubbed his shoulders. "They said we couldn't pass them. They said nothing about going over them." She smiled at him and began to dig through her pockets.

Seconds later she cried out happily and pulled a few small objects and a small bottle out of one zippered pocket. She gave all but one capsule to a few of the people behind her. They took them with wide grins and snagged the hand of one of the teenagers and ran down the alleyway. As they ran they gripped the capsules tightly until they cracked and threw them down onto the ground. When they touched the ground they burst into thick smoke and emitted a high pitched whine. The smoke cleared quickly and revealed several strange machines. The couples that were running climbed into them and started them up. Within seconds the machines were hovering several inches off the ground. While this was happening the woman who had carried the capsules pressed the last into the hands of the now smiling young man and nodded towards the alleyway and their companions. When he grinned and copied the others actions she quickly turned and opened the small bottle. She poured the contents into her hand and tossed it at the king, mage and knight and they began to cough and wheeze and their eyes streamed from the irritation.

The second after she had thrown the strange material the woman turned and raced down the alley pausing only long enough to hop onto the strange hovering machine. When she revved the engine the others followed suit and took to the air, heading straight up with joyful laughs and cries as they passed through the clouds and disappeared from sight. When their lungs and eyes cleared the trio on the ground began to make their way to the gates and the gummi ship, determined to follow.

Meanwhile, with our flying friends-

Everyone whooped and laughed as they followed the crazy girl on her hover bike and her purple eyed passenger as they rushed through the clouds and into the bright sunlight. As they were touched by the sun, one by one, Hayner, Pence, Olette and Sora began to shimmer and glow. They all reached their hands towards the sky as a warm breeze tossed their hair and their clothes. They shone brighter and brighter until it hurt to look at them and they cast light from their bodies like the sun itself. Everyone around them basked in the warmth, eyes closed and loving smiles on their faces. Then slowly the light began to fade and the four teenagers were no longer there. In their place were several other young adults.

The person that had been Sora was a young woman with bright lavender hair matching eyes. She was wearing baggy shorts that went to her knees that were held up with several wide belts, a shirt that was cut off at her stomach and sneakers, while her driver wore nothing but heavy boots and a pair of faded blue jeans. She leaned forward and the man who was driving looked over his shoulder and winked at her with a bright pink eye. She grinned at him and kissed him deeply as she tugged the strip of fabric that had been keeping his hair tied back out; freeing the dark blue strands, and ran her fingers through it. As the hover bike began to drift she laughed and sat back. He corrected his course and shook his head before looking around. Hayner had faded and a tall man was sitting in his place. He tilted his face to the sun and sighed before leaning forward and kissing the neck of the woman driving the bike. She smiled and whistled a happy note, her short black hair slicked back from the wind, her eyes a brilliant green, bright with happiness. Her clothes clung to her body like a second skin, the shirt was sleeveless and white in color as were her half-pants and sandals. In contrast the man who was kissing her was simply wearing ripped cargo shorts and a pair of worn out flip-flops. His hair was the color of fresh blood and was cut to his chin. When the woman whistled he smiled and opened his eyes. They were void of all color except for the pupil and gazed blankly at the space before them.

Olette and Pence had faded and two almost identical persons sat in their place. Olette had become a tall woman in baggy black pants, a faded purple t-shirt and a pair of grungy shoes. Her pale green hair was pinned to the back of her head and looked like silk. Her eyes were the color of onyx and gleamed in the sun. The man who was sitting before her was humming a gentle tune and moving slightly to it. His hair was a deep purple that looked red in the sunlight. It wasn't long enough to reach his shoulders and flowed with the wind. His eyes were a soft, warm gold and seemed to glitter with contentment. The man who was Pence was almost identical in height, eye color and body structure to the woman who was Olette. They only difference was that his hair was the color of steel and was shorter than hers, just long enough to brush his bare shoulders. He was wearing a pair of grey jeans and worn steel-toed boots. The woman sitting before him, who was wearing nothing but an overly large t-shirt and a pair of shorts, grinned widely as her passenger leaned forward and buried his face in her neck and moved her thick golden braid aside as he inhaled deeply. Her golden eyes shined with mirth and joy. He chuckled a bit before resting his chin on her shoulder lightly.

"Wearing my shirts again are we Divum?" he asked in a teasing voice as he wrapped his arms around her thin figure causing her to giggle softly. "Well yeah. Are you saying I look bad in them Umbra?" she said softly a fake look of hurt crossed her face as she turned towards him slightly. The others hooted and hollered at him as he scrambled for words. "Of course not baby. You look great in anything. Especially my shirts." He said as he laughed nervously. The man with purple hair and gold eyes drifted closer to them. "Hey Umbra, you better not make my sister cry or I will kick your ass!" The woman sitting behind him cuffed him on the side of his head. "Don't threaten my brother Celsus. Or I'll kick _your_ ass." Umbra began to laugh as Celsus rubbed his head and muttered a bit. "Yeah watch it man. Aurum will kill you if you piss her off." Aurum's eyes snapped to her brother. "Don't forget that I can kick your ass too." Umbra stopped laughing at that and Divum started to laugh at his expression of fear. "Oh Aurum, what would I do without you?" "Kill them yourself?" Aurum responded with a grin.

The two men blanched when she said that and looked around nervously. "Uh, hey, um Caecus," Umbra stuttered nervously, "Why don't you, uh, sing for us huh?" The man with blood hair and white eyes sighed and shook his head slightly. "Why do I always have to bail the two of you out?" he asked as he tied his hair back in a loose tail. "It would be boring without us and you know it." Umbra and Celsus stated simultaneously.

Caecus sighed again before settling more comfortably into his seat. He closed his eyes and tilted his head down slightly for a moment, then lifted it till he faced the sky. At first he was simply humming quietly but it steadily grew louder until he fully let go to the song. Words familiar to them but to no others wove around the strange people and seemed to dance in the air, and flowed through them like a river. The song was sweet and strong, like a living thing with boundless energy. The others began to laugh and whoop again, and some began to join in. Rich baritones and heady sopranos gave depth and strange echoes as they sang.

After a while they started to land, dropping carefully between the branches of the huge trees of the forest below until they touched ground. After all of them had landed safely and hopped off they touched several buttons on the bikes causing them to disappear with a pop in a cloud of smoke. When the cloud cleared the bikes were gone and the small capsules were in their place. Aurum quickly picked them up before turning to the crazy girl. "Hey, Fletus!" she called. The red and grey haired girl turned to her and gave a startled yelp as she hastily caught the capsules Aurum had thrown at her. "Hey, watch it!" she cried as one went over her head. "Quietus, love, could you get that for me?" she asked the purpled eyed man. "Okay!" he said as he smiled and trotted after it. After he brought it back and she had stuffed it in a pocket with the rest they began to walk between the trees on a barely visible path that wound its way through the undergrowth. Several times they would stop and Quietus would look around before going on. During one of these stops they could hear people talking in the distance and the voices were coming closer. It soon became apparent that they were arguing about something.

Quietus and his group slipped back into the underbrush and remained silent as an irritated Cid stomped out of some trees on the other side of a small path, Squall and the others stumbling after him. Cid was in the lead, ignoring the others who were bickering behind him. Finally the irritation grew to be too much and he stopped suddenly causing the others to look at him in surprise. "WILL YOU SHUT YER TRAPS!!" he roared as he turned to face them. "All this arguing ain't gonna help us find the kid!" They all looked at him in shock as he planted his fists on his hips and glared at them. "Now I want one of you to find a way to contact Mickey and see if they could have any idea where they could be going. I don't care who but I want someone to do it." Kiri and Riku still stared at him as Cloud and Squall shook their heads and blinked. Squall stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small phone. He flipped it open and punched in a number before brining it to his ear. After a few seconds he relaxed slightly and began to speak. "It's Squall, we found them for a few minuets but they hopped a portal with some other guy." He paused and listened to the person on the other line. "There's more of them? Wait, you saw Sora and the other three and they ran off with them?" he asked as his eyebrows rose. There was another pause as the other one spoke. "Right, is there any way you can see if there is any power fluxes in town and the surrounding forest?" Another pause. "The abandoned house? It's stranger than usual?" A shorter pause. "Okay, we will keep looking while you check there. About a mile east of our location, right?" Pause. "We will keep an eye out for the other group as well. I'll contact you if we find anything else. Right." He flipped the phone shut as the others looked at him expectantly.

He shifted a little as he frowned. "Well it seems as though there is a faint energy flux in the forest just under a mile that way," he said as he pointed vaguely to the east. "And there seems to be another group of people wondering around here." He sighed and rubbed his scar. "But Mickey said that the kids left with them and that they were acting a bit odd." Cloud frowned as well, "But what about the group we were chasing? I think it's safe to assume that it was Olette's dad you fought with, so her parents must be with them. Obviously one group is a fake. I'm willing to bet it's the other group." Squall nodded in agreement. "Mickey said that they tried to follow them when they flew off but they were too far gone for them to catch up. All they know is that they landed in the forest somewhere not far from here and that we need to keep an eye out for them. He said that there was an odd flux in the energy at the abandoned house so they went to check it out while we look for the others." Cid turned to look at the surrounding forest before he spoke. "Right then, where is the flux coming from again?" Squall pointed to the east again. "That way. Look, there's a path there. Not much of one but still a path." "Probably a deer track or something." Riku said, breaking his silence. As they began to make their way to the small path a shriek came from behind them.

They all whirled around and a man came crashing out of the bushes, shrieking like there was no tomorrow. A woman wearing the same outfit as the man stumbled out of the same bushes and, after shaking her head slightly as if to clear it, streaked after him. Riku and friends stared at this strange display baffled at the weird people they were running into today. The man was now running around in circles around the woman as she tried to get him to stop and finally tackled him to the ground. He was quiet for a split second, then began to shriek again. "GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! IT'S NASTY! GET IT OUT!" "Calm down, I'll get it out but you have to stop moving!" She turned her head to the bushes they had appeared from which were now shaking with laughter. "You guys aren't helping! Stop laughing and get over here and help me! I can't hold him down and get it at the same time!" The bushes parted again and several more people piled out, most still laughing. The woman with the screaming man growled and rolled her eyes. "Flamma, help me please?"

"Of course." A somewhat severe woman said with a sigh as she made her way over to them. "Thank you! At least someone is kind enough to help." The annoyed woman grumbled. One of the men took a gasping breath and tried to stand and face her. "We'd help you Fletus but," he gasped again and started to roar with more laughter. He tried to speak again but gave it up as a lost cause and simply laughed. Meanwhile Flamma grasped the flailing arms of the squirming man and stuck them under her legs and kneeled on them, then pushed his shoulders into the ground. The other woman sighed in relief as the shrieking was muffled by the soft forest floor. She scooted farther down his back until she was sitting on his rump and used her ankles to pin his legs together then stuck her hand under his vest and shirt. She moved her hand around for a few seconds before grinning and pulled her hand back out. Clutched rather carefully in it was a small brightly colored snake that wriggled slightly, unhappy with all the commotion.

At the sight of it the others laughed harder than before, leaning on each other for support. The two women stood and Flamma helped the sniffling man to his feet. "There, there. It's gone now. Hush, Quietus." She said as she patted him on the back. "Sister, they are laughing at me…." He said in a low whimper. At this the laughing group stopped and looked at the two fearfully. "I know they did honey. Don't worry, Fletus and I will deal with it after we find the others." She said comfortingly. He brightened at this and turned to Fletus who was still holding the snake. Giving it a wide berth he stood next to her as she stroked it softly. "Should we decide the punishment now though?" Fletus asked as she trailed her fingers softly down its back. An evil smile slowly made its way across her face as the others started to twitch. Flamma shifted her weight to one foot and put on hand on her other hip and glanced at Fletus. "What is going through that devious little mind of yours?" she asked, squinting at her sister-in-law. Seconds later her eyes grew wide and she through her head back and laughed. "Are you serious?" she gasped, pressing her hand to her mouth. "Oh yes, I am very serious indeed." Fletus said with a smile.

Flamma choked back another round of laughter and turned to their companions. "Very well. Your punishment has been decided. When we return home you will all have to dance." She stated officially. One of the others snorted. "Dance? That's it? We have to dance? That isn't too bad." The others tried to shush him to no avail. "Oh, but it is what you will be dancing _to _that matters." Flamma clasped her hands behind her back. "You will be dancing to…." She paused and looked them all in the eye. "Thriller." The man who had snorted earlier glared at her. "You're kidding right?" When she smiled at him again he began to panic. "No, No way in HELL am I dancing to Thriller!!! I don't do stupid zombie moves! I will never do it!! GO TO HELL!!" As he spoke a dark rift opened beneath the two women's feet. Quietus pulled Fletus away from the rippling vortex and stared as his sister was sucked into the dark abyss of hellish screams and cries, giving a horrified yell as the vortex shut, leaving no trace of the woman or itself behind save the smell of sulfur and ash.

Well that took forever. I'm so sorry. I kept forgetting about it. Now I feel kinda bad but there is nothing I can really do… Oh well I just have to make the next chapter better then don't I? The end of the chapter didn't turn out as amusing as I had hoped it would, but there is not much I can change without killing what I have planned. Ah well. I hope you enjoyed it!

Second note- I made a mistake and had to delete this chapter and repost it. Sorry.


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